University of Florida appoints interim provost to permanent position

Lillian Lawson, Gainesville Sun
·2 min read

The University of Florida on Tuesday removed the "interim" tag from the title of one of its top administrators.

Scott Angle, who formerly served as senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources, was named interim provost in June 2023. He was initially chosen to serve temporarily while a national search for a permanent provost continued.

Scott Angle, the University of Florida's Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources, closes out the inauguration ceremony of Ben Sasse, the 13th president of the University of Florida. Sasse was inaugurated on Nov. 2, 2023, at the university auditorium in Gainesville Fla.
Scott Angle, the University of Florida's Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources, closes out the inauguration ceremony of Ben Sasse, the 13th president of the University of Florida. Sasse was inaugurated on Nov. 2, 2023, at the university auditorium in Gainesville Fla.

Interim to permanent: UF's Ben Sasse announces new provost in one of his first major promotions

“Many of the folks on our excellent search committee recommended that we take the ‘interim’ out of his title. Effective immediately, we’re doing just that,” said UF President Ben Sasse in a news release. “We had some extraordinary semi-finalists and finalists, but we decided not to make an offer when Scott is doing such excellent work. Scott has earned the trust and admiration of his colleagues in each of UF’s 16 colleges. We are grateful for his servant leadership and his commitment to this land-grant university’s world-changing mission.”

The search committee co-chairs, Saby Mitra and Duane Mitchell, will continue as advisors on UF's academic excellence initiative and work to advise Sasse and Angle on important reforms within the provost's office, the university said.

Former Provost Joseph Glover announced in January 2023 that he would be resigning from the position he held for 15 years, shortly after UF declared that Sasse would be the school's next president.

Angle's Background

Angle has worked for UF since 2020 and was formerly the director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

He earned a bachelor's degree in agronomy and a master's degree in soil science from the University of Maryland and his doctorate from the University of Missouri with a focus on soil microbiology. Angle is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

He later worked at the University of Maryland as a professor of soil science, where he then became the director of the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station and Maryland Cooperative Extension.

Following his time in Maryland, Angle served as dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Georgia from 2005 to 2015. During his tenure, enrollment at the school grew by 30%, according to a June 2023 UF release.

“Serving UF is a great honor, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to continue this important work,” said Angle in Tuesday's release. “We are going to accomplish extraordinary things together.”

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: University of Florida names Scott Angle permanent provost